In Which Nick Doesn't Drink
by Convenient Alias
Summary: "I have been drunk just twice in my life, and the second time was that afternoon…" –Nick Carraway. Or, the one where Gatsby tends to get drunk and Nick doesn't, and Gatsby thinks that is just a shame.


_"__I have been drunk just twice in my life, and the second time was that afternoon…" –Nick Carraway_

Now it was just a plain fact that Jay Gatsby liked alcohol.

No particular kind, really. At his parties he would serve champagne and fine wine to show just what sort of a man he was, but he would also have some cheap beer around for people who had different tastes. Himself, he liked champagne, but that was partly the principle of the matter. There was a sort of grandeur about champagne that other kinds of alcohol rather lacked.

And of course it was not merely the flavor of alcohol that was enjoyable to Gatsby nor even the intoxication (though that effect had been rather useful in the past when he had been wondering if he would ever even see Daisy's face again). There was also the fact that alcohol was technically illegal and for that reason Gatsby had been able to make a fortune selling it in drugstores under the table. Yes, Gatsby owed much of his wealth to alcohol and had a healthy appreciation of that fact.

Daisy liked alcohol too, mostly expensive wines, even though she hadn't been the drinking type back when Gatsby had originally known her. People changed-Gatsby was still shocked that she still loved him after all these years. It was a good thing, too, that Daisy approved of alcohol now, for if she had asked Gatsby to give it up, he would have had to. He could never deny her anything, and it would have made his parties far less exciting and popular.

Nick, on the other hand, clearly did not like alcohol so much.

It wasn't that he despised it. Gatsby had shared many drinks with him over the past few weeks and months, and it was clear that Nick had no real objection to drinking. And many evenings, even when Gatsby did not actually drink with him, he would find Nick with a rosy color in his cheeks that did not occur naturally at such a late hour.

But people at Gatsby's parties didn't just get a buzz from the champagne like Nick. That was not the point. They got roaring drunk, to the point that they lost their shoes and neckties, stumbled into walls and brawled on the lawn, forcing Gatsby's butler or other guests to step in. And they generally had a wonderful time doing it, which was half of the reason they kept on coming back.

So Nick's moderation in drinking was something of a concern and a puzzlement to Gatsby. Of course, he tried to avoid the matter, since Nick would probably find it dreadfully uncultured of Gatsby to need an explanation of why he didn't drink to the limit and beyond. And of course he had to accept his friend's choices.

However, Gatsby had fewer inhibitions about asking questions when he himself was as drunk as a hedgehog that had fallen into a wine cask.

"Old sport," he muttered at Nick one evening when most of the guests were gone. "I don't know how you do it. I don't know why you do it. Why? Why?" He stared desperately up at Nick's slightly red but relatively sober and sensible face, and then tripped over his own feet and fell on top of him. Nick managed to catch him somehow and held him upright in an awkward embrace for a few moments before dumping him on the sofa.

Jordan Baker, who was also there for some reason, laughed at him. She was drunk too, and had no right to think this was so funny.

"I can drive you home, if you want," Nick offered, glancing over at Jordan.

"I'm already home," Gatsby said. Wasn't he? This was his own couch, right? He burrowed his head into it to check. Yes, definitely his couch. All right then, Nick was just being an idiot. That was all right-no one could be as smart as Nick usually was twenty-four seven.

"It's all right," said Jordan.

"I really don't think you should be out on the roads…"

"Because I'm careless?" Jordan asked. "Or because I'm drunk?" She laughed again. Jordan was loud when she laughed. "It's fine, Nick, don't look at me like that. I have a ride. You just take care of Gatsby."

"Gatsby doesn't need to be taken care of," Nick protested.

This was quite true.

Jordan was leaving though, which was sort of good. She laughed too loudly for Gatsby to really handle, and she distracted Nick, and Gatsby wanted to talk to Nick.

Nick said, "Well, it's been a fine evening. Thank you for inviting me to the party. I'll just be heading home…"

Nick had a quiet voice. It was a bit like Daisy's if you didn't listen to carefully. Daisy's voice was low for a woman's, after all. But Nick's voice didn't have quite the same melodic quality.

"Daisy," Gatsby said. "Why didn't she come?"

"You already know that. She was out three nights already this week, and Tom was suspicious," Nick said. He sighed and sat down on the couch. Apparently he wouldn't be leaving just yet. That was lovely. Gatsby smiled his most charming smile up at Nick. It generally made Nick happy when he did that, and most people agreed that his smile did not suffer even when he was ridiculously drunk.

"You didn't drink," Gatsby pointed out, remembering that he had been thinking about that very fact earlier, before he had gotten distracted.

"I did, though," Nick said. "We both drank together, remember?"

"You didn't drink enough," Gatsby rephrased.

"I drank enough to appreciate the quality of your champagne, at least."

"You aren't drunk," Gatsby complained. "You're never drunk, old sport. I truly do not understand that…aspect…of your character. I get drunk." He added to that last part a smile. Surely if he got drunk then Nick should understand that to do so at his parties was entirely proper. Nick liked doing things that Gatsby did. Nick was Gatsby's friend.

He yawned.

"Yes," Nick said. "I know that."

"Why aren't you drunk?"

Nick shrugged and leaned further back into Gatsby's couch. "I don't enjoy it much. It makes everything blurry and confusing. I don't like being confused."

"Hm…" Gatsby had known that, of course. Before he had sent Nick to Jordan to hear the truth about Gatsby and Daisy's relationship, he had dropped some mysterious hints about what Nick was going to learn, and the confusion had made Nick downright angry at him. And Nick was never angry at Gatsby.

"I don't make good decisions when I'm drunk either," Nick added.

"No one does," Gatsby yawned. "Do it anyways."

"No, I'm serious," Nick said. "I end up doing things like stripping, wandering around train stations with no destination and ignoring everything going on around me. That's why I've only been drunk twice and I will never drink that much again."

"Only been drunk twice!" Gatsby said. This was clearly not right. "Are you sure I can't get you some more champagne? I can call for the butler, old…sport…"

"It's fine."

Gatsby was never quite certain what happened after that. Either it was so humiliating that Nick never mentioned it again, or he fell asleep. Nick told him later that he had fallen asleep immediately ("You were very drunk, Gatsby") but he refused to meet Gatsby's eyes at the time, which was rather suspicious.

In any case, the events of the night did little to discourage his attempts to get Nick to drink more. After all, if everyone got drunk at Gatsby's parties, even the people Gatsby didn't even like, why should Nick have to hold back? It wasn't like Gatsby was going to think any less of him.

Gatsby suspected it was all because of Jordan. Nick liked Jordan. (Which made Gatsby rather jealous sometimes, although he certainly didn't begrudge his friend a love life.) It was ridiculous. Jordan drank a fair amount herself, after all.

Still, Nick would do whatever he wanted.

Daisy agreed with Gatsby that Nick was rather reserved. Still, she was unwilling to assist him on his quest to get Nick to drink more. "He's always been bookish," she remarked. "Nothing we can do about it. Heavens, at least he's been showing more of an interest in girls. We thought he was some sort of ascetic before he started dating Jordan."

Jordan wouldn't help Gatsby either. She thought Nick not drinking was "cute".

So Gatsby got roaring drunk and complained to Nick about it. Nick had absolutely no sympathy.

"You know, I only get drunk when I'm feeling uncomfortable," he said. "So if I'm not drinking at your parties, you have only your own talent as host to blame."

After that Gatsby felt a bit more reconciled to his friend's drinking habits. That didn't mean he had given up, mind you.

And the fact also remained that the less Nick drank, the more Gatsby could drink, when he came over to visit and they were sharing a friendly bottle of champagne.

And Jay Gatsby liked alcohol.

* * *

AN: I know Gatsby doesn't actually get drunk that often at his parties, according to canon. Take this as AU if you want, or see it as Gatsby letting go of some of his inhibition now that he has Daisy (for now at least). Oh, and reviews are always appreciated.


End file.
